Plague

Plague is a zoonosis involving rodents and their fleas. The causative agent of plague is a bacterium, Yersinia pestis. Humans are incidental hosts and are usually infected by the bite of rodent fleas. Plague can also be acquired by direct contact with infectious materials or by inhalation of infective respiratory droplets.

Plague continues to be enzootic in wild rodent populations over large rural areas of the Americas, Africa, and Asia, with occasional outbreaks among commensal rodents in villages and small towns. The only continent free of plague is Australia including New Zealand. See map click here

Manifestations: Initial signs and symptoms of plague can be non-specific, with:

Fever
Chills
Malaise
Myalgia
Nausea
Prostration
Sore throat
Headache

Bubonic plague, the most common form, usually presents

painful, swollen lymph nodes (buboes)

Diagnose and treatment: Diagnose is demonstrated by blood test. Treatment is available. . If plague patients are not given specific antibiotic therapy, the disease can progress rapidly to death. About 14% (1 in 7) of all plague cases are fatal.

Prevent plague by:

environmental sanitation
don’t touch rodents.

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